By Abiola Olawale
The Nigerian music industry has been on a positive trajectory for a while, with Afrobeats making waves across the world.
Latest statistics emerging have revealed that indeed the Nigerian music industry is up and booming.
This is as one of the biggest music streaming platforms, Spotify, revealed that it paid over N25 billion in streaming royalties to Nigerian artists, including Wizkid, Davido, Burnaboy, among a host of others in 2023 alone.
The company disclosed this in its annual Loud & Clear report focusing on the Nigerian market. According to Spotify, the 2023 earnings for Nigerian artists rose more than double what they earned in 2022 which stood at N11 billion.
Spotify also added that royalties to Nigerian artists have increased by 2,500% since 2017.
The data released by Spotify also revealed that the number of Nigerian artists earning over N10 million in royalties quadrupled since 2018. It added that over half of the royalties went to independent artists or labels, showcasing the democratizing power of streaming.
The report also indicated that Spotify listeners discovered Nigerian artists nearly 950 million times in 2023.
Commenting on the report, Spotify’s Managing Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Jocelyne Muhutu-Remy, said, “The significant growth in royalties earned by Nigerian artists on our platform is a powerful testament to their talent, creativity, and global appeal.
Muhutu-Remy added that while Afrobeats remains the king, Nigeria’s music scene is experiencing a genre revolution as Spotify data reveals increased popularity across local genres.
According to her, homegrown genres like Highlife grew by 224%, Igbo Pop increased by 303%, and Fuji grew by 187% as they all experienced a significant increase in listenership in 2023.
The New Diplomat reports that Spotify is one of many music streaming services that generate revenue for the music industry. The artists also earn revenue from other platforms such as YouTube Music, Apple Music, and Amazon Music, among others.
